Consumed
by amazingbliss24
Summary: One fatal error in judgement unleashes a dark and sinister plot upon the nations. As the world sucuumbs to the temptations of greed and anarchy, Fire Lord Zuko learns first hand just how cruel Azula can be.


Two brawny men threw me down onto the floor. I tried to stand, but my kneecaps were broken. I remained hunched over, staring at the cold marble. Blood dripped onto the smooth white surface. I couldn't begin to guess where it came from. It seemed like every part of my body was bleeding. Cuts and burns on my broken arms oozed a yellowish liquid. All my fingernails were ripped off, save for one, which hung off my index finger by a thread. A piece of bone stuck out of my lower abdomen, presumably one of my many fractured ribs. I had long since become numb to the pain. Now it came in the form of a deafening ring in my ears. I reached up to my left eye. It wasn't there. Just a purple, swollen mass in its place.

If one thought logically, I should have died weeks before. In fact, if anyone else had received only a fraction of the injuries I'd sustained, they would have been gone in mere minutes. But not me. The spirits had chosen to spare my life. For what reason, I knew not. But if they had deemed me fit to carry on existence in this world, they must have had something big planned for me.

"You look awful," she sneered from atop her charcoal black throne. I did not look up, seeing that my nervous system was shot and I had no control over my neck and shoulders. "Well? Aren't you going to greet your master?" she asked expectantly.

Greet her. Yeah, right. She wasn't my master, she was my captor. Besides, even if I wanted to greet her, I couldn't. She gasped when I opened my mouth, revealing the mangled, choppy mess that was the remains of my tongue.

"My, my, Sapphire! You are much more brutal than I expected!" she praised the woman standing behind me. The woman bowed graciously.

"Thank you, Princess Azula."

Sapphire. What an ironic name for Azula's master torturer. The blue jewel was only found beneath the gigantic mountains of airbending temples. They were a rare beauty, indeed. This woman, however, was arguably the cruelest woman in the Fire Nation, second only to Azula. She always wore tight black dresses, and sported a pair of ridiculous drawn-on eyebrows. She knew how to kill a person without actually rendering them dead. She could make you experience all the pain of death, but without stopping your heart. So naturally, she was Azula's prodigy.

"Sapphire, our dear friend seems unable to speak," Azula said, her words dripping with venom.

"It would appear so," Sapphire replied. Even though I couldn't see her, I could practically hear the evil smirk on her plastic face.

"Perhaps we need to teach her a lesson." Bam. A blast of fire right at my face. I didn't stop it. I just let it burn my skin.

"Still not talking? Alright then. Sapphire, what is our friend's name?" she asked.

"Meili, Your Highness."

"Meili? I believe that's Earth Kingdom. It means beautiful, if I'm not mistaken."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Well, Sapphire, would you say that our dear Meili is beautiful?" Azula bent down close to my face, lifting my chin with a long polished fingernail.

"Absolutely not, Your Highness," Sapphire chuckled.

"Well then, from this day forth, you shall be referred to as Katame. One-eye. It seems fitting of you," Azula cackled. "Now I have a question for you. What is an Earth Kingdom tramp like yourself doing in my palace?"

"She was a servant to Fire Lady Katara in the Royal Palace," Sapphire offered. I struggled to hold back tears, the pain of thinking about home was too much to bear.

"Really…and what was her duty as a servant?"

"She worked in the nursery, m'lady. Taking care of _the baby._"

Azula's eyes perked up with interest. "Well then," she said, looking right into my mangled face. "Sapphire, tell the maids to get Katame here cleaned up. I have a special job for her."

Across the Fire Nation, tucked safely in bed with his wife and baby boy, the Fire Lord dreamt of a peaceful new world. He had no idea what was to come.


End file.
